Words

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

Thursday, April 8, 2010

And The Answer Is...


Flummery.
Cherry Flummery to be precise. Flummery is a sweet soft pudding that is made from stewed fruit and thickened with cornflour (aka cornstarch). 
Traditional British flummeries were, like porridge, often oatmeal-based and cooked to achieve a smooth and gelatinous texture; sugar and milk were typically added and occasionally orange flower water. The dish is, or was, typically bland in nature. These days it is made with many different fruits and flavors, like the cherry you see above. The dish gained stature in the 17th century where it was prepared in elaborate molds and served with applause from the dining audience. Bill Bryson described flummery as "an early form of blancmange". The word also came to mean dishes made with milk, eggs and flour in the late seventeenth and during the nineteenth centuries. Later, it came to have more negative connotations as a bland, empty and unsatisfying food. This is when the word Flummery garnered a negative connotation  in its alternate, figurative meaning also: empty compliments, unsubstantial talk or writing, and nonsense. The term is also used to denote intentionally confusing speech, flim-flam.

Nobody got it, so I can see this is either too hard or you're not bothered. So this week, let's make it easier. Name This Food!

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